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Copyright 2008 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!Some stories may appear in unedited versions that are different from their print counterparts.

Drunk man calls police to help him out of bar (WLEX-TV)

Lexington, Kentucky, image via Wikipedia

Apr 2, 2010 
 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Drunk in a bar and can't get out, who you gonna call? Police. That's what Todd Fitzwater did in Lexington. WLEX-TV reported Fitzwater called 911 Thursday and said he'd gotten drunk and passed out at Todd's Karaoke Bar the night before, awakened and had a few more - then couldn't get out of the bar, which was closed.

Officers tapped on the door Thursday afternoon to guide the 45-year-old Fitzwater to it so he could let them in to help him.

The bar owner said Fitzwater is a "regular" who lives nearby. The barkeep stayed with him until 7:30 a.m. Thursday, then left figuring Fitzwater would eventually let himself out and go home.

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Ignition interlock maker critical of Iowa drunk driving laws (RadioIowa)

Image by kitzero via Flickr

 by O. Kay Henderson

The head of a company that makes devices which prevent drivers who are drunk from starting their vehicles says other states have jumped ahead of Iowa when it comes to making sure habitual drunken drivers cannot drive.

Kevin Doyle is president of Consumer Safety Technology, a business based in Clive that manufactures the “Intoxalock,” a device which requires a driver to blow into a tube to prove they aren’t intoxicated before they can start their vehicle.


“Unfortunately since 1988 Iowa has fallen far, far, far behind in the management of OWIs,” he says.  OWI stands for “Operation While Intoxicated.”

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Brave boy stops alleged drunk from driving him home (Boston Herald)

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

By Laura Crimaldi

A young New England Patriots [team stats] fan is being applauded by police for his “moral courage” after he called his parents from Patriot Place Sunday because he feared the man entrusted to drive him home was drunk behind the wheel.

Foxboro Police Chief Edward O’Leary said the car the 14-year-old boy was riding in was stalled in heavy traffic exiting a Gillette Stadium parking lot after the Patriots game when the boy became alarmed by William Groot’s driving.

“I think it’s exceptional that he would realize that he and his young friend could be in danger not only because of the man’s behavior, but because he was continuing to drink,” O’Leary said.

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Head of police union charged with drunk driving (Pierce County Herald)

Image via Wikipedia

PORTAGE - The head of the state police union says he’s “ashamed” he was picked up for drunk driving this month in Columbia County.

James Palmer of Sun Prairie, director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, issued a statement yesterday in which he apologized and promised not to challenge his first-time OWI citation.

According to authorities, Palmer and police association finance director Jean Steinhauer had three drinks at a Madison tavern before they each drove away. The 48-year-old Steinhauer lost control on a curve north of Sun Prairie and drove through a large snowbank and into a shed. Palmer then drove there to help her. His blood alcohol level was point-146, and Steinhauer’s level was point-15 – both well above the state’s legal limit of point-zero-eight. Steinhauer was also cited for first-offense drunk driving.

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Funeral Home Offers Drunk Drivers a Free Burial (Associated Press)

Image by mirandapablo via Flickr

ROME, Ga. (AP) -- Planning to drink and drive this New Year's? A north Georgia funeral home has a deal for you. Between now and noon Thursday, drivers can visit McGuire, Jennings and Miller Funeral Home in Rome to sign a contract stating they plan to drink or take drugs and then drive on New Year's Eve. If they die in a wreck that day, the funeral home will give them a free burial.

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Reno mother arrested after allegedly passing out drunk in car with 7-month old (RGJ.com)

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

By Jaclyn O'Malley 

A 29-year-old Reno woman was jailed on allegations she drove drunk with her infant daughter, and then passed out at the wheel after ordering fast food.

Samantha Nicole Choley was arrested Sunday night after employees at the Plumb Lane McDonald’s restaurant called police to report a woman was passed out in her 2002 Saturn in the parking lot. Officers found a crying 7-month-old girl in the back seat, and they were unable to immediately rouse Choley, who was being held up by her seat belt, according to a police report.

Choley was booked into the Washoe County Jail on suspicion of drunken driving and child endangerment. She was released after posting more than $4,000 bail.

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